Chapter 57: Chapter 44 Lake Goddess (Old group inexplicably exploded, start new group) _1

Following the path through the woods, Duanmu Huai and Ogis arrived at a lake. The area was lush with greenery, with remnants of broken stone pillars and ruins all around. Apparently, this used to be some kind of temple in the past. At the center of the lake was a small island, on which stood a statue of a woman holding a golden holy grail.

That must be the Lake Goddess.

Duanmu Huai frowned at the sight of the statue. Just then, a system notification appeared before him.

[Detected Holy Artifact signal, Locked Holy Artifact position]

“Whoosh!”

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai nearly spat out old blood. Where did this Holy Artifact come from? Wait, could it be that holy grail?

Should he take it away?

Looking at the holy grail in the Lake Goddess’s hand, Duanmu Huai pondered for a moment.

Oh dear, if I take away the Bartonilla people’s holy grail, they won’t come to hit me, will they?

Anyway, they can’t beat me.

With this thought, Duanmu Huai felt more confident. The Green Knight had been defeated by him, what was there to fear?

Thus, Duanmu Huai eased his mind and aimed for the goddess statue in the lake. He planned to activate his jetpack and just fly over to snatch the grail. With this artifact, he could construct the Tribunal Library to analyze the Antimatter Energy Core, then build the reactor!

However, just as Duanmu Huai was preparing to take action, the goddess statue suddenly released a dazzling golden light. Following that, the statue transformed, turning from a stone sculpture into a living woman!

???

What’s this? A living statue?

Staring at the woman before him, Duanmu Huai was dumbfounded. He then saw the woman bend over, scoop a cup of water from the lake, and then float across the lake towards him, extending the cup out.

“Um…”

Looking at the cup the woman offered, Duanmu Huai was disgusted. He had seen her fly over barefoot. Moreover, the lake’s water was unfiltered, making it unhygienic. What if she had foot odor or something? Drinking it could cause problems, right?

But it would be impolite not to take the cup offered, so Duanmu Huai begrudgingly took it. He glanced at the liquid inside and a system message quickly popped up.

[Lake’s Holy Water: Drinking it can grant special expertise (Goddess’s Favor) (Goddess Blessing) (Psychological Immunity)]

[Obtainable title: Holy Grail Knight (Charm +2)]

Whoa, it increases Charm?

Upon seeing this, Duanmu Huai’s eyes lit up.

If it increases Charm, then that’s great!

This is exactly what I need!

With these thoughts, Duanmu Huai didn’t feel as disgusted by the holy water anymore. Although it had some issues here and there, upon closer inspection, it was quite clear, much better than the aloe vera juice sold on the streets of India.

It’s clean and sanitary, right?

However, Duanmu Huai didn’t immediately drink it.

He knew that after drinking the holy water, he would become the Lake Goddess’s Holy Grail Knight. However… Duanmu Huai had no intention of selling himself to the Lake Goddess.

Just kidding, as a Judge, he was thankful he didn’t belong to the Heretic Tribunal. Otherwise, the Lake Goddess would be his object of loyalty. How could he offer his service to her instead?

But giving up this holy grail was hard… It was a Holy Artifact right before his eyes…

“…”

Seeing Duanmu Huai holding the cup without making a move, the blonde woman before him wore a puzzled expression.

“This is a blessing from the Lake Goddess. Drink it, and you will have enough power to protect this world…”

I know that, but if the price is selling myself, then no thanks.

Maybe the Green Knight fell for it too, who knows?

With that thought, Duanmu Huai hesitated for a moment and finally looked at the woman.

“Can I have it?”

“Of course.”

The blonde woman smiled and nodded her head.

“This cup of holy water is bestowed upon you.”

“No, I mean the cup… Can I have it?”

“…”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, the blonde woman was rendered speechless. She looked at Duanmu Huai in surprise, seemingly unable to understand the situation. A Holy Grail Knight asking for the grail in person, this might be a first.

“Thank you.”

Since the woman did not refuse, Duanmu Huai took this as her agreement. He nodded and quickly activated the teleportation coordinates. The next moment, the teleportation light beam emerged from under Duanmu Huai and Ogis’ feet, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared without a trace.

“…………..”

Only the blonde woman remained, floating aimlessly on the surface of the lake, staring in disbelief at the uninhabited wilderness before her.

She did not know how to react.

Duanmu Huai didn’t care about the Lake Goddess’ thoughts. After teleporting back to the Core Cabin, he immediately put the Holy Grail on the terminal, acquired points, and unlocked the [Tribunal Library]. At this point, Duanmu Huai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that the goddess might take the grail back. But now that the holy artifact had been completely transformed, even if she wanted to take it back…she couldn’t.

Next, Duanmu Huai took out the [Antimatter Energy Core] he obtained earlier, left the Core Cabin, walked down the corridor, and entered the Tribunal Library on the other side.

The interior mirrored the design of the [Strategic Command Room], with the whole room virtually resembling a church. The room was bare, with nothing on the bookshelves that lined the four walls. A semicircular platform was positioned in the center of the room, showcasing a platform similar to a church altar. Duanmu Huai walked up and placed the [Antimatter Energy Core] in the center of the platform. Soon after, the metal servo skulls at the four corners of the platform slowly rose, radiating beams of light from their eye sockets, scanning the core in front of them.

At the same time, a system prompt also appeared in front of Duanmu Huai.

[Antimatter Energy Core (Analyzing)]

[Progress: 1%]

[Time Required: 186 days]

“This is going to take a long time…”

Seeing the progress bar in front of him, Duanmu Huai slightly furrowed his brows. However, it was not surprising – it was, after all, Ancient Saint technology, and it was only natural that the complex analysis would take some time.

As for the holy water in the grail, Duanmu Huai did not waste it. He found a bottle to load it in, intending to analyze it after the [Energy Core] analysis was done and see what happens. After all, it was something that increased charm. If he could determine its composition and manufacture it himself later, then he could generate his own holy water. He could even use it for baths, let alone drinking it…

After all this, Duanmu Huai teleported back to the lakeside with Ogis. The poor blonde woman was still floating in the air, looking pitifully at him. She looked like a little girl who had her candy stolen.

“I’m sorry, but that cup is very useful to me. I have to take it.”

Seeing the blonde woman in front of him, Duanmu Huai had to be frank – her cup was already disintegrated anyway, so she can’t retrieve it!

“But I won’t take it for nothing. If there’s anything you need me to do, I’ll certainly not shirk as long as it’s within my ability.”

Although it was a bit wrong to use hard sell tactics, for Duanmu Huai at the moment, obtaining the holy artifact was of utmost importance…

“………..”

Hearing this, the blonde woman sighed and looked at Duanmu Huai again.

“Then, Sir Knight, soon this continent will face an unprecedented catastrophe. I hope you can guard this world and eliminate the impending threat.”

As the blonde woman spoke, a mission prompt also popped up in front of Duanmu Huai.

[Mission ‘Apocalypse’ Activated]

[Mission Objective: Prevent World Destruction]

[This world is about to face a ruthless catastrophe. Find the clues and prevent all this]

Goodness, this mission is a real handful.

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai was surprised. He originally thought it would be something as simple as protecting Bartonilla, but it escalated to a world-level mission…Wait, could this ‘end of the world’ mean the ‘Moment of Ending’?

The ‘Moment of Ending’ could be considered as the first major event in Star Ocean Online.

In one sentence…the players’ beginner’s village got blown up.

As more and more players entered Star Ocean Online, various forces on this planet began to fight due to all sorts of reasons, including the forces of Chaos. The players were more than happy because there were more tasks. However, they found the difficulty of these tasks a bit unusual. Following the plot development, players felt something was not right.

Therefore, they began to ask for help from the Judge players who had successfully left the Novice Planet—a universe of stars.

The players at that time were immersed in the joy of exploring the infinite starry sky. Apart from a few players who went back to check the situation, most players did not pay much attention to it, thinking it was part of the game’s plot. Their reasoning was that nothing wrong would happen in the end; they had CG [computer graphics] killing enemies anyway, didn’t they?

Surprisingly…the players lost in the end. A mysterious being opened the third Chaos portal hidden within the planet, tearing apart the world and swallowing it into the Chaos realm of subspace. The whole planet was utterly destroyed.

This outcome greatly surprised all players. Many players had joined forces on that planet, raising their reputation, buying houses, and recruiting people. And then…all of it got wiped out in an explosion at the original place?

Could they bear that?

So, the players protested at the game’s production company, demanding an explanation and asking for compensation.

However, the production company’s response was very shrewd—this was the players’ fault for not putting in effort. If they’d worked hard to prevent the conspiracy and protect the planet, none of this would’ve happened.

So, in the end, it’s all on the players’ lack of earnest effort. Why would that be the company’s issue?

Faced with the company shifting the blame, the players were dumbfounded. They had never seen such shamelessness…

After that, many people quit the game. However, the remaining players began to treat each task and event on every planet seriously. Clearly, the destruction of the beginner’s village served as a lesson, reminding them that if they kept slacking off, it could indeed lead to the real destruction of the world.

If this is the case…this mission is going to be quite problematic!